17th February 2023
In the January 2023 issue of International Tug & Salvage, regular columnist Simon Tatham explains how the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea can intervene when tugs or crews are detained. Most problems encountered by tugs and other ships trading the high seas are resolvable. However, there are situations that arise where conventional…
25th October 2022
Simon Tatham examines an October Court of Appeal judgement that demonstrates salvors who strike silver should be compensated Wreck removal, a specialist activity usually required by coastal states when navigation or the environment is threatened, is an expensive exercise usually funded by a vessel’s protection and indemnity (P&I) insurers. In deep water, unless the bunkers…
13th July 2022
Simon Tatham examines misconceptions on salvage and the use of LOF Most mariners will spend their life at sea without ever being on a ship in need of salvage assistance. But when things go wrong, any mariner on a ship in trouble should be only too pleased to see a salvage tug coming over the…
26th May 2022
16 May 2022 by Simon Tatham Regular columnist Simon Tatham examines a recent maritime accident report to highlight the risks of not taking the offered LOF The International Group of P&I Clubs (IG) has been working on what it calls its Salvage Delay Project, an independent study into the increasing tendency for delays in the take up…
15th March 2022
Regular columnist Simon Tatham explains the process, benefits and pitfalls of invoking SCOPIC in salvage Salvage situations develop quickly, calling for rapid decision making by the parties involved. For the opportunist, occasional salvor and a shipowner faced with its first salvage dilemma, they with probably not have experience of Lloyd’s Open Form (LOF) salvage let…
2nd February 2022
Passage planning is an important aspect of any commercial voyage by sea. There could be many hazards during the voyage through congested waterways, with awkward turns through outlying archipelagos, crossing traffic separation schemes and narrow and tidal waterways to navigate. Understandably, when a client contracts for the tow, they would rightly be aggrieved if, following a grounding, it transpires the tug owner and crew had…
3rd November 2021
Regular columnist Simon Tatham reviews the rising use of 2021 updates to BIMCO’s TOWCON and TOWHIRE standard contracts. It is now nine months since BIMCO published its updated towing contracts, the third edition since they were first introduced in the 1980s. This pair have since become the industry standard for deepwater towage, and with the…
23rd September 2021
A theme of this year’s London International Shipping Week was container ships, coinciding with the first visit to Felixstowe of one of the new class of ultra-large 24,000-TEU vessels. Even much smaller container ships pose a marine claims challenge when a voyage goes wrong. We are not infrequently reminded that Napoli, which was beached in English…
28th July 2021
Regular columnist Simon Tatham provides insight into the Admiralty Solicitors Group salvage agreements and arbitration proceedings There was consternation as to whether Lloyd’s would continue to operate the Lloyd’s Salvage Arbitration Branch (LSAB) and therefore support Lloyd’s Open Form (LOF). Lloyd’s has since confirmed its commitment to LSAB and LOF. There have also been concerns…
20th June 2021
It has been more than two months since salvors unblocked the Suez Canal by refloating 20,000-TEU container ship Ever Given and yet the vessel remains in Egypt awaiting compensation payments and its release. If discussions do not result in a compromise, it is the receivers of cargo on board Ever Given that will continue to bear the brunt of…
